Red Rose Publishing Having Problems Internally?

Red Rose Publishing is having some issues conducting its regular business activities. Authors are reportedly not getting their work published within a specified time. If rights are requested to be reverted because of this breach, the publisher is reportedly sending the authors bills for cover art and editing for those books. Notices of editors and cover artists that they are quitting are reportedly being ignored.

My editor had also signed up to do edits for my new publishing house and that made her a target. She’s getting the feeling she’s going to be fired so she lets the publisher have the truth about how upset I am at the early release. To put it bluntly, the you know what hits the fan. I’m done. I officially email her that I am severing ties with her company.

Now remember, I have never heard from her regarding the virus, but she responded to this email like lightning. She removed all my books from the catalogue and pulled me off the author loop. She stripped away everything I had out and all my author rights. So, since she broke her own contract, I sent her an official notice via certified mail that I wanted the rights to all my work returned to me. I also discovered and included in the letter that she had released book 2 in my series called Heart Of The Queen without a contract.

Statements were not being sent out and emails to the publisher went unanswered. A few authors at Red Rose Publishing, unhappy with non payment, posted their complaints to the readers loop.

In response, Wendi, owner of Red Rose Publishing sent off this email:

This is not intended for the authors who did not go in the readers loop to whine and complain!

I am beyond furious at those who have done it, and lets say I am not pleased and how unprofessional can you get!
Checks were issued for those that had made over $20 and those who made over $20 per the contract.
Yeah, I am behind getting out the statements to those who have not sold $20 because I have been dealing with some serious family issues and for that I am sorry. I apologize for having some serious family issues going on with me.
In addition to that we had a full audit on Red Rose Publishing from the day we opened the doors to present. Believe me the state and federal governments are looking to get money, unfortunately I guess on their parts all of our stuff checked out and was in the auditor’s oppinions [sic] one of the best and well put together as I had every thing she need right there.
It states we have 45 days which are business days Monday thru Friday to get those statements done. You knew that when you signed the contract.
I can not believe that someone would feel that they had to take this to the readers loop, not the authors loop or address this to me, so that tells me either #1- you had no idea, #2- you are out to do the company and your fellow authors problems or #3- You do not care about Red Rose Publishing, your books, sales or the reputation of the company!
I have repeatedly busted my ass so even those WHO DO NOT SELL GET A CHANCE TO GET THEIR BOOKS in print, well F* me, for going out of my way to help any authors, take out ads or even do contests.
I had for the anniversary blow out, with the following prizes for the readers:
Kindle DX- the $499 one
Ebookwise ebook reader
A Netbook
Black Diamond Earrings
Other Jewelry
Perfumes and gift sets made up with Roses
Red Rose Publishing Mouse Pads and a whole lot of other stuff including print books that were autographed!
For the authors who went out there and promote the anniversary sale and contests the following were to be prizes:
Black diamond earrings
Ebookwise ebook Reader
$25 cash
Other Jewelry
Perfume, and body gift sets with Roses
NOW YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO?
I want to take all of that back to the store as I feel now ready to cry and was let down by those who did what they did, plus I am tired of being the one do things and those who do not sell whine about every thing.
I know that some of you authors know much better than to post in the readers loop but I guess you all do not care about your sales, your fellow authors etc….. as well as being unprofessional to boot!
Right now I am so upset I am requesting that NO ONE get in touch with me unless it is an emergency or you are dying, because I am a little pissed off to put it mildly and until my colorful language and being pissed off passes, let me have a few to myself, that is if NO ONE MINDS, otherwise too bad so sad as I am taking it!
Take care and have a great day!
Wendi

I’ll never understand the “be professional” tirade followed by the “I can’t do my job because of family problems” that is trotted out. It’s always important when signing with a publisher, any publisher, to talk to existing authors, ask questions, and generally, not be afraid to extract all the necessary details before you sign an agreement. Unusual items like lifelong transfers of copyright and Non Disclosure Agreements or Non Competes should raise a red flag.

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Jane Litte is the founder of Dear Author, a lawyer, and a lover of pencil skirts. She self publishes NA and contemporaries (and publishes with Berkley and Montlake) and spends her downtime reading romances and writing about them. Her TBR pile is much larger than the one shown in the picture and not as pretty.
You can reach Jane by email at jane @ dearauthor dot com

What I should have stated is…save your energy for the person it should be geared toward. Do NOT stoop to THAT level no matter how tempting it may be. It won’t solve anything and might hurt the cause more than help it.

I will also add that the author’s MUST be willing to step forward. That seems to be the problem up to this point. People have been hiding in fear (not that I blame them) of retaliation and retribution.

Now that there seem to be some who are willing to step forward and bring their issues to light, they should remain steadfast and focus on the matter at hand. Not get sidetracked by obvious distractions.

Again… to the authors… don't let somebody provoke you to speaking out in anger any more.

Those of us who’ve seen this happened before, with places like triskelion, mardi gras, etc-same old song and dance.

If there are problems at RRP, RRP will go under-doesn’t mean you will-plenty of authors survived Triskelion, Mardi Gras, etc.

Your image is what matters and responding in anger, losing your cool, that stuff will stick with you. Readers remember that-they also remember the ones who rose above it. ;) Trust me-that’s something I know for a fact.

And yeah, in case anybody is wondering… I can keep this up… RRP doesn’t matter much to me… I’m not involved, so I can stay objective-as long as I see people taking potshots at frustrated, new authors… I can keep responding. I’m not fond of trolls or bullies.

Take my word for it, authors… if you just grit your teeth-you’ll get through it. If if you come thru on the high road, it’s better for YOU in the long road.

It’s not going to happen fast, but good things come to those who wait.

Go, Shi.
Just needed to say that.
Agree very much with what Shi is saying. There’s nothing to win in public ranting, and a lot to lose.
Take your example from the Dorchester authors who received bad news recently. They’ve all acted with grace and consideration, at least in public. We don’t know how they’re behaving in private, nor should we, because it’s none of our business, and it wouldn’t achieve anything anyway.

We each have to take our own road in trying to extricate ourselves from this mess. Groups may not work too well, unless you are willing to contribute towards the cost of a class action lawsuit. Otherwise, you’re likely to encounter too many conflicting loyalties, confused reasoning, quislings playing both sides of the fence, enemy agents :-) and fear overriding reason. You can’t go into battle with your hands tied behind your back. To have any chance of winning you have to use any weapon at your disposal. Good luck with whatever way you choose to go. Later.

This is from the RRP Yahoo author group. Wendi is sending out viruses to authors she dislikes. Woweeeeeeeeee

“I must urge everyone who is on her radar to also beware of e-mails. She will
send computer viruses. Besides us, we know of three others she has done this to
when she is not happy, and they are vicious viruses. One will come in the
manstream while she is online with you, and another will come in a download,
like your copy of your new book…which is a sleeper that will rear up several
hours later, and unfortuantely, or fortunately we DO have the proof.”

I must urge everyone who is on her radar to also beware of e-mails. She will
send computer viruses. Besides us, we know of three others she has done this to
when she is not happy, and they are vicious viruses. One will come in the
manstream while she is online with you, and another will come in a download,
like your copy of your new book…which is a sleeper that will rear up several
hours later, and unfortuantely, or fortunately we DO have the proof.”

I have no idea what this is, but for the past two or three days, when I click on an email in the RRP authors loop, a small window pops up that says:

File Download
Do you want to save this file, or find a program online to open it?
Name: Get.Media
Type: Unknown File Type
From: Media.Fastclick.Net

And I have to keep clicking it away before it finally quits popping up. A friend told me it was some kind of virus, so I’ve shied away from opening any more digests from this loop, just to be safe. I imagine they’ve probably fixed it by now, but I’m too afraid to check and see. *g*

It is disheartening to read that the Attorney General refuses to get involved since that is where we would need to go in order to file cease and desist orders if she continues to sell our books after we've pulled them.

It’s going to depend on what you ask them to do for you. They’re not going to help you get out of a contract with a difficult publisher (it sounded like the earlier commenter wanted that). You need to ask them for something they can do or show them something they can act on.

@DA: I wasn’t offering proof of anything. After reading the post that mentioned a virus, I decided to comment about what had recently happened to me. If there’s a chance I could/did get a virus from that loop, I’d certainly like to know about it.

For the record, I’m not convinced Wendi did or would plant a virus on her own loop. I’m not one of the authors with a problem, though I’m no fan either. I’ve merely been keeping up with this thread for my own personal curiosity.

I’m not exactly computer savvy, so I have no idea what that window was that popped up. I didn’t include a file name because I didn’t have one (or know to look for one). I listed every word that was on the window that kept popping up. As I said, a friend googled it and told me it was a virus. I never said that it was.

The sleeper virus fear campaign is from 2009, it was called conficker or downadup and it exploited a Windows bug that no longer exists.

@Lin What’s the virus name? You state you found it, what is it?
If your statement is true then you should be able to easily remember the name of the virus that affected you and your 3 friends.

The complete name of ANY executable virus reads as:
virusname.exe or virusname.dll

There will always be a .*** to make a virus operational. If you were able to find a virus, you were able to read the name.
What is the full name of the supposed virus?

Anyone who doesn’t use anti-virus software and connects to the internet is asking to be owned as a zombie box while their personal information is used to buy tractor parts in Nigeria.

If a chat host such as MSN or Yahoo could schlump viruses through a conversation, they’d be in serious trouble. The have their own I.S. departments write the code for their security. Ask a lawyer about going after Microsoft or Yahoo for allowing a virus through a chat.

Let’s see some truth. I’m not asking for people’s names, I don’t care who you are. I’m not asking to see your contracts, your medical records or your diary. Show me emails, show me you had money coming and didn’t get it.

If your going to knife someone, do it while you look them in the eye.

The sympathy for these authors has evaporated. One email and an old virus scare make me question what’s really going on here.

The damage is done–the info is out there for authors to read, and can’t be reeled back in. The NDA wasn’t enough to protect Wendi against her bad business practices. Potential authors are scared away. RRP will never be in the Big Ebook Leagues now.

1. @DA & @ Shiloh,
I like both your styles! Reading through this, extensive bitch-fest, I can't help but wonder, how were things before all the blow ups?

Is this publisher just a completely irrational woman with no legitimate reason to lash out? Are these people on her shit least really helpless, innocent victims?
If she is so reactive, without any just cause, does this mean every person complaining here is too?

We're only hearing about the explosive pieces, and complaints, but what about the things that led up to this point?

And for the record Kat & Lin, I do have a psychology degree, and yes, people that are displaying suicidal ideations, threats or gestures, are doing so, because of an inability to cope with daily life stressors in a healthy, productive manner.

Most often, individuals that feel the need to resort to these drastic escape routes, are usually suffering from anxiety disorders, personality disorders, mood disorders, most often related to past traumas, unresolved traumas and allot of the time, have physiological predisposition to these disorders (meaning it often runs in the family.)

I wouldn't even attempt to â€œgive an amateur diagnosis,â€ especially not knowing your case history, I would suggest though, if you have a parent, assuming legal and personal representation for you regarding a publishing contract, and completion of contracted work, it would strongly suggest there were some predisposing factors at work before one challenging individual pushed you to the bring â€œto eye the razor bladesâ€.

That being said, hopefully you are engaging in medical supports for the state you are currently in, and also, hopeful, you are capable of taking on the fallout of what your mother is instigating.

If there is any history associated with this statement, one would hope a parent acting as a power of attourney for medical reasons would recognize the detriment this level of negative activity and engagement would cause.

Oh, one more thing, @Lin, resorting to accusing someone of maliciously sending viruses, let's just remember, this is a publisher that recently had to incur a substantial expense to replace an entire website after hackers installed nasty viruses and began pirating books, and online purchases of these author books.

Does it seem odd that she would be accused of this unspeakable act? If she doesn't have time to answer emails, why would people assume, she had time to send viruses to each individual she may have a conflict with? Considering the level of unhappy people being suggested here, and fearful of posting their names, that would suggest allot of spare time on a person's hands to inflict this kind of intentional damage- this is quite an oxy-moron.

Really? There are allot of paranoid type accusations happening here. I agree with you @DA, 1 email, where's the proof?
I've had my moments of spouting anger and resentment in a frenzy without thinking, but wow, people are giving this woman a great deal of credit as calculating to say the least.

Food for thought.
Lin, I would assume the reason you refused to post this the first time, is because it discredits your points. Blogging is supposed to be a matter of opinion, it isn’t really blogging when you omit points you don’t agree with.

How frustrating that you can’t control the message boards, huh, DA? I’m not playing your game, and it’s TOO LATE, DA. The info is out there and YOU can’t counteract it. The mess spilled over onto the internet, and you can’t stop it.

People have read the email. You might be able to ignore it, but others won’t!

Romance writers will be able to find enough information to help them decide about RRP. They can google.

The best thing you could do for RRP is to insist the owner conduct business in a professional manner, answer emails, clean up the messes. Message board fights won’t help RRP at all.

Even Wendi’s attorneys won’t be able to wipe this away. It’s done, there is no rewind.

So far, what I have seen is a bunch of angry people with a “Romance Writer Mob Mentality”. Not all things have happily ever after. Not all things even have the prince that rides in to save the heroine. How many people have forgotten that there is still a need to take responsibility for their own actions.

Wendi may be “the villain” in the mind of many here, maybe even in real life, but really, think about what your actions are saying.

At first I was scared that perhaps I’d got myself into something terrible, and maybe I have, but now I’m pretty much wiping my hands of this whole conundrum.

Legal action? If this kind of activity took place in a court of law, many of you would be found in contempt of court, and the case more than likely thrown out. “I am who I am” doesn’t cut it in the legal jurisdiction, so if you are going to toss about a serious aspect such as that, be sure to act professional and present serious facts.

The fact that Wendi has remained silent despite all the malicious comments and lack of organized and professional proof, tells me that she is doing what she needs to maintain a professional appearance and perhaps even taking more professional action for when the “real” s*it hits the fan. Honestly, what is griping on a message board going to do for you?

Personally, I see myself with a future in writing. I haven’t placed all my cards with one publisher, so if I lose one story, no biggee, I have more. I consider myself a writer, not a one hit wonder. Sure it will hurt, but is it worth this kind of grief?

I’m sure you will try to burn me in effigy as a “Wendi supporter” and that’s your prerogative. Honestly, I’m not. However, I DO NOT condone this kind of pitchfork and torch mentality. PERIOD. So, I’ve made a list of those who have been lacking in professionalism and I’ll be taking my reading funds elsewhere. There are plenty of other writers out there who ARE professional, despite many more setbacks than you folks here have suffered. Names that are a heck of a lot bigger than anyone here. Maybe you guys should talk to THOSE people once in a while instead of hanging out in your small world waiting for someone else to make it right.

I was accepted onto both the new author’s loop and the ‘issues to be resolved’ loop. I had an issue to be resolved. I received no communication from Wendi or anyone else and now I am unsubscribed from both groups.

@Anon RRP author:
Still unwilling or unable to back your own comments?
“”The NDA is pretty unusual, too-what other publisher uses one? Sounds like the typical ‘lock box' abusers use to silence victims.””

What’s a typical lockbox? Where’s the research to back up your statement that an NDA is unusual?

You’ve got lots of room to dance around a direct answer while you take a moment to add labels to anyone who dares question your opinion.

“”I think those are called ‘enablers.'””

The weak amount of factual information presented is not enough. What led up to the email? What parts of the story are being left out to make the authors look lily white?

@DA: You want research to prove an NDA is not industry standard? I have personally seen contracts with three of the top five epubs and not one had an NDA. I know authors signed with nearly every epub, even the crappy fly by nighters, and none have ever mentioned an NDA. On writers boards all over the net people are talking about this RRP kerfluffle and authors from many, many epubs are piping up to say there’s no NDA in their contracts.

RRP is the only one I know of who has one. IMO it says something that a company with such an apparently abusive owner thinks they need one. It says they don’t want people to know she’s abusive nor about the internal problems RRP has that authors thinking of submitting have a right to know about.

Can I just say something about this NDA thing? Of course other publishers have them. This is business. Can you imagine Young and Rubicam employing people without one? Now writers often write for more than one publisher, it’s even more important.
It’s also important that the understanding is in writing, because this is a business agreement.
It’s comparable to the non-competition clause demanded by some big companies. I worked for General Foods at one time. Heard of them? Look them up. Birds Eye and Maxwell House were two of their brands. I had to sign an agreement that I wouldn’t go and work for any of their competitors (named on the agreement) for six months after I left their employ. I worked for a big advertising agency at one point. Same thing.
NDA’s aren’t always in the book contract because they don’t have to be signed each time with each book. They’re usually signed once and separately, at the beginning of the author’s association with the publisher. They are pretty standard – not to disclose specific sales figures, future plans in certain areas, that kind of thing.

@DA: Please. RRP is *not* Harlequin or Penguin or anyone, really. They are nobodies. They have no industry secrets, they are doing nothing revolutionary that they could fear an author could let slip to the competition.

To compare the need of a multi-billion dollar publisher to have an NDA to a no-name epublisher ‘needing’ one is absurd. You might as well compare a company like Minute Maid to the ten year old down the street’s lemonade stand. One has need of such legalities and the other doesn’t even register to anyone outside of a very limited, three block radius.

And yes, authors thinking of submitting to a publisher have a right to know what kind of company they are submitting to. By gagging their authors and not allowing them to speak freely about their experiences, RRP is hiding their true nature and by the time an author realizes what a mess they are, it’s too late.

The NDA I have from them states I will not speak negatively about RRP in public for 1 year after the contract ends on any blog or public forum. As this is not negative but informative in the most general sense I am not violating it.

@DA: There you have it, from @Me, who apparently has a copy of the contract and the NDA in question. They’re not trying to protect industry secrets or internal processes, they’re gagging authors from telling their experience with them so as to hide their unprofessional behavior.

I can assure you that is *not* standard practice at any reputable pub I know of, NY or E.

@Jane: It doesn’t seem to be relevant here, Jane. I’ve only ever been asked to agree not to disclose limited and specific points, like quoting things marked for internal use only (I think I’ve had three of those in 8 years), or for specific sales figures. Industrial secrets, I guess you’d call them, things that companies like Nielsen pay for.

I did work for Granada TV as a summer job at university, and I had to sign an agreement not to reveal what was going to happen next on the soap the company was famous for, “Coronation Street.” Instant dismissal on that one.

And I’ve signed the ultimate NDA, the Official Secrets Act. I worked on the switchboard for the Cotton Board, at the time a Government agency. Guess that means I’d learn all kinds of Big Secrets.

But I’ve never, ever been asked to sign something that said I couldn’t defame the company in public, or venture an honest opinion about it. I wouldn’t sign it, either.

Can I just say something about this NDA thing? Of course other publishers have them. This is business. Can you imagine Young and Rubicam employing people without one? Now writers often write for more than one publisher, it's even more important.

….

NDA's aren't always in the book contract because they don't have to be signed each time with each book. They're usually signed once and separately, at the beginning of the author's association with the publisher. They are pretty standard – not to disclose specific sales figures, future plans in certain areas, that kind of thing.

I think the implication in your comment is that NDAs are common in publishing and I’ve never heard of one outside a ghost author or work for hire and can’t imagine what “trade secrets” an author would be privy to that she could not have the freedom to share, even (and more specifically) sales figures of the author’s own books.

I don’t believe that NDAs are common and thus would hate to have that become part of publishing lore unless it was true. If you have signed several NDAs then my understanding would be incorrect.

And frankly, if it isn’t relevant, why would you have made the above comment in the first place?

I stumbled upon this discussion and read through it carefully. I don’t write for RRP, but, recently, I went through exactly the same situation with another publisher. In fact, the similarities are uncanny. On another message board, supporters and detractors argued with one another just as they do here.
In time, the “supporters” were also burned, and they became detractors as well. Thoses who initially sounded the alarms were vindicated. However, noone got the answers they wanted – the publisher simply disappeared – leaving people without royalties, ordered books, or literary right reversions. They were, and remain, incommunicado.
RRP is going down. Our publisher used the same “problems” shtick to excuse the total lack to results or professionalism. It was all bullshit really. If you want something done about your contract, try to do it now – soon, your bizarre publisher will steal away into the night, until her next scheme.
Those of you who criticize the whistle-blowers…well, you’ll find out soon enough that where there is smoke, there is fire. You’ll get burned, too. I guarantee it.
People speak up when they have no other choice…this sort of mess happens every time, and then the publisher goes under, taking your money away with them…

By the way, and slightly off-topic…and no offense meant to anybody here trying to pass on useful (albeit incomplete) information…but please note that not ALL computer viruses have the extensions .exe or .dll; those are only two of many, many potential extensions for executable files. And, of course, most of the files on your computer that bear those extensions are perfectly legitimate. For one (probably much longer than anybody needs) discussion of how to identify potential computer viruses, try this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc164146.aspx. I hate linking anybody to a microsoft-centric resource, but odds are most of you are using Windows, so that seemed most appropriate. Another source is here: http://vms.drweb.com/virustypes/?lng=en. The Google also has plenty to offer on this topic, of course.

Sorry to de-lurk for this tangential purpose; I just feared somebody might come along, read that random bit of seemingly authoritative “information,” and rely on it to their detriment. I have no opinion one way or another on whether the virus-related accusation here had any merit, and I do not mean to imply the poster who responded was deliberately trying to mislead anyone.

With respect to the actual topic: this whole thing is just a train wreck, really. So much unpleasantness. Like Shiloh, I write for Ellora’s Cave, and I’ve been very happy there (NDA and all). But never more so than after reading through all this distasteful RRP mess.

Right now I’m waiting to get my rights back to my book. Contracting with this publisher has been the worst experience of my career. A “friend” recommended them and despite my doubts and some of the things I’d heard, I did not trust my instincts at the time and contracted with them. Now I wish I’d never signed the contract–despite negotiating with the publisher via phone. I can’t go into it in detail here, but you can always hop over to my blog and read about the latest. It might clarify a few things. And don’t listen to bad advice about not “airing your dirty laundry in public” nonsense.People who have been taken advantage of or victimized should not be expected to shut up and play nice. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people being admonished for that, and that once upon a time I actually bought into that silly crap. Not anymore. They should warn others so the same thing doesn’t happen to them.Would you not tell a friend (or even the world) if a company you contracted with to do work did not provide those services to you and left you holding the bag? If you were a crime victim, would you hide your face in shame and shut up because it wasn’t all nicey-nice and talking about it might make people uncomfortable? It’s the same principle and its BS. People need to help and support one another. Oh, and in case the publisher is reading this, libel and slander are an entirely different thing to the TRUTH. http://www.kimberlyivey.blogspot.com

I have no idea if, two years later and then some, any progress has been made regarding these issues. For myself, I gave up long ago. But for a short time I served as both an editor for RRP and as the maintainer of the Submissions email account for RRP. I cannot tell you how many emails I had to respond to which were “fire extinguishers”–authors she’d courted, who were waiting to hear back from her, who had sent submissions no one knew about and had merely been wandering the ether for literally months.

Yes, there were and possibly still authors who hold a place on her “A-list” — I know this because one problem we came upon was with Submssions. There were specific guidelines three of us were given as to the quality of material which would be accepted for contract–yet when I sent emails back to authors with suggestions that they might need to do this or that in order to meet those guidelines, suddenly there were several cries of “how dare you speak to me this way, I’m a CONTRACTED author with five titles to my name and no one’s ever sent a manuscript back!” This for simply following the guidelines I’d been given.

The solution when the matter was brought to the CEO?

“Oh, just do the work, but don’t talk to anyone.”

I left the editorial position shortly thereafter, because it was clearly an exercise in futility.

For the one title my co-author and I submitted to RRP, we were given a contract and a release date… and then it got lost in the queue. We ended up doing the edit ourselves, and so missed that vital second set of eyes. We’ve never seen a dime for it, even though it was at one point #1 on RRP’s website best-seller list. We waited the contract length, then sent our required hard-copy certified letter stating we would not be renewing our contracts. Nothing. No receipt, no acknowledgement, and the book is still up on the website.

I don’t speak legalese, and can’t afford an attorney. And I refused to fray my nerves further by getting involved in the ruckus over it. It’s just not worth the headache.

I have successfully published a number of titles with another publisher (before I ever went to RRP, thankfully). But reaching out again to say, Dreamspinner or Samhain as a secondary deal – the terror level left from my experience at RRP is still very high. I dare not trust again.

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